Kids tend to take things pretty literally and take them to heart. They don't always "get" the sarcasm and/or humor that adults use. While an adult may be perfectly comfortable with referring to himself as "crazy", kids generally aren't and will take you at your word. I work with teenagers as my profession, and even at 17 and 18 years old, they have many misperceptions of mental illness that come directly from adults and media portraying and referring to mental illness as "crazy". That IS where the stigma comes from, and perpetuating it with our own children when we are in the best, most direct, position to educate them and enlighten them just does not seem healthy for them at all.

Age appropriate explanations of our mental health issues is truly what they need and what they truly desire. Kids just want the adults in their lives to be honest with them and not leave them floundering in the dark. With appropriate knowledge, they can feel at least the security in having some intellectual understanding of what their parents are going through.

I would encourage parents dealing with illness, not just mental illness, but any kind of illness, to have honest discussions with their kids (age appropriate of course) because our illnesses directly affect their lives, their sense of who they are, and their sense of safety and security.